"Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat willy-nilly through a bloody gantlet with an unknown number killed or captured."

They abandoned their weapons and stopped fighting a losing battle. Leaving Kiev's military deteriorated in disarray - a spent force needing time to regroup and rearm for renewed conflict later on at Washington's discretion.

End-game fighting could have been avoided if they recognized the futility of continued conflict and quit. Instead, Kiev military strategy proved disastrous.

A February 19 Washington Post propaganda piece headlined "Hopes for Ukraine cease-fire fade as fighting spreads across the east."

No evidence corroborating its accusations was presented. None exists.

Independent reports say rebels unilaterally began withdrawing artillery and other heavy weapons from front line positions - scrupulously observing Minsk, reserving the right to return fire if attacked.

RT International reported "gaffe-prone" State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki moving up to White House communications director in April.

Her Big Lies about nonexistent Russian aggression won't be missed. They continue while remaining in her present capacity.

On February 19, she lied claiming rebels violated Minsk over 250 times - without citing evidence of a single violation.

Saying "(t)he United States condemns continuing attacks by Russia-backed separatists in and around Debaltseve, Mariupol and other locations in eastern Ukraine which violate the ceasefire and flout the Minsk agreements."

She turned truth on its head demanding Russia and rebels "stop their attacks immediately, withdraw heavy weapons, halt the flow of fighters an equipment from Russia into Ukraine."

On February 20, she accused Russia of "not abiding by the agreement (it) signed, by continuing to support and intervene illegally in Ukraine."

"Yes, they're violating international norms, and they're violating international law…We're particularly concerned about new attacks near Mariupol"

"…(I)f Russia and the separatists fail to implement the agreements, end the violence, and halt the flow of fighters, there will be additional costs."

"…I believe that even if we accept the demands that they (want to) dictate on us in the nuclear issue, the sanctions will not be removed since they are opposed to the (Islamic) Revolution in essence."

On Saturday, RT International explained a CIA plot to plant fake atomic component designs transferred to Iran in 2000.

A revealed 1997 CIA cable said "(t)he goal is to plant this substantial piece of deception information on the Iranian nuclear-weapons program, sending them down blind alleys, wasting their time and money."

Former UK IAEA envoy Peter Jenkins said "(t)his story suggests a possibility that hostile intelligence agencies could decide to plant a 'smoking gun' in Iran for the IAEA to find."